by Jeff Garrett

DENVILLE –   If you play indoor sports, coach, referee or attend a game in the Valley View Middle School gymnasium this Fall, folks may refer to it as the “Forte Gymnasium.”  

The Denville Board of Education decided to name the middle school gym after former Superintendent, Dr. Steven Forte, who served as Deville School District’s superintendent for 12 years to cap off a 35-and-a-half-year career in public education. 

A plaque bearing the name “Forte Gymnasium” was presented in early June at a board meeting where the resolution was formally adopted.

A well-respected, family man who raised his kids in Denville, Forte’s talents spanned far and wide not just at Valley View but in other school districts.

As superintendent in Denville, Forte helped spearhead a strategic plan titled “Denville  2022,” completed with the input of over 100 stakeholders to coordinate the school district with targeted plans for development. He witnessed Deville earning a Blue Ribbon of Excellence from the U.S. Department of Education in 2020.  

Before 2014 when he began his Superintendent role, in November 2011, Dr. Forte was named Superintendent of the Verona Public Schools. He was able to help pass a near $17 million referendum for much-needed repairs and upgrades across the school district. 

Active in creating and sustaining relationships with area colleges and Verona, Fote helped implement college credit courses on Verona’s high school campus. 

Prior to serving at Verona, the honored and retired school administrator served in Hasbrouck Heights as principal of Lincoln Elementary School from 2006 to 2009. 

From 2009 through 2011 he was Director of Technology and curriculum in Hasbrouck Heights School District.  From 1991 through 2006 Forte served as a special ed teacher, football and wrestling coach at the middle school and high school levels.

Cullis Moves into Superintendent Role

Hardly a stranger to the superintendent’s office, longtime Assistant Superintendent t of  Schools in Denville. Sandra Cullis, became the new head of schools in July.  Cullis worked  alongside Forte for a dozen years and she is a firm believer to stay the course on what Forte created in his vision for the school district.

She comes in at a good, yet challenging time financially in the school district.  Admitting that salary and benefits are tough to keep pace, Denville School District completed $24 million in maintenance and related projects and didn’t have to go to referendum – a huge achievement for any school district anywhere given the current financial climate in the United States.

New housing developments taking shape in Denville mean a greater enrollment with an expanded curriculum perhaps. She seems quite focused on maximizing the school district’s dollars especially when it comes to finding affordable, quality health benefits.

Denville’s superintendent’s office passed the torch this year but it seems to be more of a tightly-timed, well-executed handoff than a mere pass. It’s all meant to keep the school district running well on all cylinders as it embraces the latter half of the 2020’s.